Skip One Common Step For The Crispiest Breakfast Potatoes

We've got plenty of different ways to give your breakfast potatoes an upgrade, and most of them either add ingredients or extra steps to the cooking process. So you'll be glad to know that you can actually skip a step for the crispiest breakfast potatoes. And the step to skip is peeling your potatoes. Whether you're using russet potatoes like we do in this simple home fries recipe or a thinner-skinned type of potato like Yukon gold or new potatoes, the peel holds more potential for crisping than the exposed flesh.

Leave the peeler in its drawer and simply wash and dry the whole potato before cutting it into even cubes. If you're using the oven or air fryer, you can just toss them with olive oil. If you're deep frying or pan-frying the home fries, you can add them directly to the hot oil. The fat and heat will transform even the thinnest skin into a shatteringly crunchy coating. If you want a crispy skin for every bite, a smaller new potato or fingerling potato is your best bet. These mini types of potatoes should only need to be cut in half, or at most quartered, ensuring that you get an equal surface area of skin on each chunk.

Leaving the peel on your potatoes will save you a cooking stage, no matter which method you choose to crisp up your home fries. There are a few more options for crisping up home fries that also apply to most cooking methods. For example, parboiling potatoes is a great way to ensure that both the peels and exposed flesh reach their crispiest potential. While you don't need to do this if you're in a hurry, if you have time, boiling the cubed potatoes will partially cook them while also drawing out a portion of the starches and sugars. Some of the starches and sugars that these potatoes excrete as they boil will form a filmy layer around each chunk when you drain them. And it's this layer that creates an all around crunchy exterior as you roast, pan fry, or deep fry the potatoes. Plus, since you've partially cooked the potatoes already, you can rest assured that the inside of the potato will cook at the same rate as the crust crisps.

However, the one cooking method that bypasses the need for parboiling is air frying. Most air fryers, like this 9 in 1 Cosori air fryer, are designed to crisp and cook your potatoes quickly and efficiently. You can simply toss in the cubed potatoes with your choice of oil and seasonings, adding them directly to a hot 400 degree Fahrenheit air fryer for around 15 minutes. With air frying, as with roasting and pan frying, arrange the potatoes in an even, single layer across the basket for the crispiest results.